2/28/2005 -- For years now, Cisco Systems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) have had a relatively harmonious relationship: To be sure, HP competes in many of Cisco’s core markets with its ProCurve line of networking gear, but it also resells Cisco’s own networking gear and has partnered with Cisco on several initiatives.

Recently, however, HP has signaled a willingness to compete more aggressively with Cisco in the networking giant’s bread-and-butter enterprise market segment.

Late last month, for example, HP announced new additions to its ProCurve line, starting with the ProCurve Secure Router 7000dl series and the Access Controller Module for the ProCurve Switch 5300xl.

The first two entries in HP’s ProCurve WAN portfolio are the 7102dl and 7203dl routers. The former ships with two expansion slots to support modular WAN interface cards and can support up to four T1/E1 connections; the latter ships with two slots and one wide slot to support modular WAN interface cards and can support up to 12 T1/E1 connections. Elsewhere, HP says the ProCurve Switch xl Access Controller Module enables secure, mobile user access to appropriate network services on any ProCurve 5300xl switch.

According to Joel Conover, a principal analyst for enterprise infrastructure with consultancy Current Analysis, HP’s new ProCurve offerings were almost certainly developed with Cisco in mind. “These new products squarely target Cisco in terms of interface capacity and performance, while targeting Cisco’s device and service pricing,” he writes.

For example, Conover points out, HP’s new ProCurve access module helps HP to address a shortcoming that many competitors, including Cisco, have long exploited. “The new Access Control Module enables ProCurve to deliver integrated WLAN features in any HP switching environment, helping HP to counter the messaging coming from many of its LAN switching competitors,” Conover notes. “However, like many of the LAN switching incumbents, HP has only the bare-bones functionality required to enable campus-wide mobility.”

For this reason and others, Conover says, HP will have a difficult time attracting entrenched users of Cisco and other networking gear. “While HP has proven it can deliver highly reliable, low-cost alternatives to Cisco to price-sensitive markets, its latest round of technologies does not create a compelling reason to drive customers away from their preferred vendor partner, Cisco or otherwise,” he argues. “HP’s new products accomplish the same things as the already-installed base of products in the market.”

In one key respect, Conover notes, HP—which hopes to compete against Cisco largely on the basis of price—faces a decidedly uphill battle. “Competitors such as Cisco have been trying to redefine the edge access router market by delivering new high-function, high-value services including embedded VoIP and strong security features,” he writes. “While HP may be able to beat Cisco up on price, it has little competitive differentiation amongst the half dozen other competitors that also target Cisco solely on price.” -Stephen Swoyer